America.gov (Washington, DC)
30 June 2009
document
David Foran, a foreign service officer with the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, answered questions in a June 30 CO.NX webchat on fighting naval piracy in the 21st century.
Following is the transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
Webchat Transcript
CO.NX Chat: Fighting Piracy in the 21st Century Q&A
Guest: David Foran
Date: June 30, 2009
Time: 9 a.m. EDT (13:00 GMT)
CO.NX Moderator (Mark): If you are just joining us, welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself to our group. I am Mark Betka here in Washington, D.C. I am one of the moderators for today's chat.
Let me make some adjustments to the screen. If you are on a PC, use the F11 key for a larger screen view.
Comment [Matt Kerr]: My name is Matt Kerr and I am a physics graduate student in North Carolina, though I'm originally from Pittsburgh, PA.
Comment [Jinx]: hello
Comment [Abdikani Hasan Mahamud]: haye
hello am abdikaani hasan experet pirates
Comment [Moataz Alhady]: Hello Tim
Comment [Lee]: Hi im lee merritt from Braintree in Essex,UK
Comment [Mary Furnivall]: Hello, Im Mary Furnivall from Nairobi, Kenya
CO.NX Moderator (Mark): Hi Mary and everyone online with us today.
I'll bring up our attendance Pod in just a moment.
Question [Muheed Jeeran]: Could you please confirm about the conference time?
Answer [CO.NX Moderator (Mark)]: Hello Muhheed, we'll begin our chat session in about 10-15 minutes at 13:00 GMT.
Comment [Rooble, Somalilandpress.com]: Hello, I'm Rooble, the Editor in Chief of Somalilandpress in Hargeisa, Somaliland
CO.NX Moderator (Mark): Roobie, welcome to our chat. We look forward to your questions and comments.
Comment [hari]: hi I'm Hari a final year medical student from India ... this is the first live chat I'm attending.
CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): Welcome Hari! We are very happy to have you here
Comment [Muheed Jeeran]: Hello let me introduce myself. I am Muheed Jeeran currently residing in Sri Lanka, a prominent UK Conservative Party activist and a Campaign advisor to Meyer F Marks, He is a republican Congressman Candidate for Marlyland state.
CO.NX Moderator (Amelia): Welcome! We're glad you're here.
If you are just coming into the room, please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from :-)
Comment [jose-manuel]: Hi, I am Jose-Manuel Ferrer, from Spain (by the moment it still exists), MBA, co-fundator of AsociaciÃ'n Sinergias e InnovaciÃ'n de AragÃ'n (ASIA) and manager director of a comercial company
Comment [Mo Gillen]: Hi, I'm Mo Gillen and I'm in the US Army
Question [Rooble, Somalilandpress.com]: It has been quite a while since the starting of the piracy in Somalia's coast, Lots of efforts have been paid and thousands of Dollars were spent plus the huge army located in the sea but there is no sign of the piracy decreasing. I believe it is time we do a total evaluation os what has been done, what has not been done and what is to be done. A full evaluation of the whole issue. It is hard to believe there is a piracy in a place where you have tens of warships from all over the world.
Answer [David Foran]: Despite the continuation in pirate activities, a great deal of progress has been made. The rate of successful attacks is down to less than 25%, due in part to better efforts to self-protect on the part of industry. You also have to remember that the twenty or so warships available are covering an area four times the size of Texas. We continually evaluate our efforts and look for ways to improve.
Comment [Muheed Jeeran]: Before I put my question, this is my second forum and I really appriciate this forum. This type of forum united the world to discuss a global issue and also united soltution to the problem. Thank you very much for the US State Government.
CO.NX Moderator (Mark): Muheed, thank you for your words. We want to remind everyone about CO.NX, our global online dialogue in Facebook. http://co-nx.state.gov. These chats are part of CO.NX, when the chats are not taking place, please join us in Facebook to continue the discussion on whatever topics you are interested in.
Q [Mary Furnivall]: Why is it so difficult to stem pirate activity off the coast of East Africa? For example, off the coast of Somalia, I understand the pirates launch zodiac-type boats off a mother ship. With our satelitte technology, why cant we stop these mother ships?
A [David Foran]: The biggest problem is the huge area that pirates operate in. Mother ships are often pirated fishing boats that have crew members held as hostages. These vessels can be difficult to track. Again, there are limited assets available to try to track pirates.
Q [cairoirc@state.gov]: Do you think if the stution on Somali changed this will help
A [David Foran]: Yes, I think everyone agrees that the ultimate solution to piracy lies on the land with a stable Somali government.
Q [cairoirc@state.gov]: Can all the world countries make a law by which they can overcome piracy
A [David Foran]: Most countries currently have laws that allow for the prosecution of pirates. One of our challenges is convincing governments to use these laws to prosecute pirates.
Q [Kenya Son]: Will arming ships get rid of pirates?
A [David Foran]: That's a good question. The short answer is we don't know. The US Coast Guard recently issued guidelines to US flagged vessels that will operate near Somalia advising that they should consider the use of armed or unarmed security. There's a great deal of concern on the part of industry about potential liability arising from the use of armed security.
Q [Hillman]: If you could recommend one thing to stop these pirates what would it be?
A [David Foran]: In my opinion ships use of self-protection provides the greatest deterrence against successful pirate. As I mentioned earlier, the success rate for pirate attacks is below 25% compared with 2008 when success rates were over 40%. I think shipper self protection plays a large role in this reduced success rate.
Q [Hillman]: Where do you see the Somalia pirate situation in 5 years? 10 Years?
A [David Foran]: I think a lot will depend on the situation on the ground in Somalia. Our hope is that by that time, there will be a stable Somali government in control of its territory. If that is the case, piracy will no longer be the problem it is today.
Q [Mary Furnivall]: What's happening to the money being paid to the pirates as ransom? Who is spending it, through what channels, where, and do we know for what?
A [David Foran]: We are trying to get a handle on the flow of pirate money. This is difficult since ransom is paid in cash which is difficult to track.
Q [Matt Kerr]: Is Donna Hopkins signed in as David Foran? If not, could you ask David to please introduce himself?
A [David Foran]: Sorry, I am a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department's Political Military Bureau. My portfolio is focused on Somali piracy. I work closely with Donna.
Q [Mo Gillen]: If self-protection is the greatest contributor to the reduced attacks, where would you rank the deterrent effect of US and partner nation warships? Also, what about the piracy off the West coast of the continent?
A [David Foran]: I think deterrence due to the presence of an international coalition of naval vessels also has significantly disrupted pirate operations. This is best illustrated by the movement of pirates further and further from Somalia. We now have had attacks more than 600 nautical miles from the Somali coast. This increased distance presents a number of challenges to pirates and to the navies trying to fight them.
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